Documentary event photography

Documentary Event Photography

a followup on the opening of the Clydeside Distillery

I want to share with you some recent documentary event photography I shot as the final stage in a great project I had been working on with the team at the new Clydeside Distillery.

Towards the end of last year I posted about the opening of the Clydeside Distillery. As I wrote at the time, one of the challenges of photographing a big project closing in on a grand opening is creating beautiful marketing imagery while all the construction traffic is still pounding through the place.

As you may have seen on the previous post it all came together in the end and we managed to create a great set of pictures which were shared widely across the media.

Scotch Whisky Magazine, BBC, The Spirits Business, The Herald, The Scotsman to name just a few while the architects Hypostyle used many of the pictures themselves.

Once the venue was open for business I returned to the Clydeside Distillery to shoot some documentary event photography. It was an evening event and I intended to capture the warmth and atmosphere of the place in full swing.

This was the circle completed for me and it was wonderful to see the vision of Tim Morrison and his team coming to life.

Have a look at the photos and see what you think – I love it in there.

Whisky distilleries are magnetic places to most people. It’s a highly industrial process but despite that it’s a wonderful assault on the senses and so closely connected with the traditions and craft that makes every whisky unique.

I noticed that the guests picked up on this as soon as they walk into the building. Then the tour brings it all to life – the heat from the stills, the rich colour of the copper, the raw spirit’s vapour and the warming complexity of the finished drink transported them away from daily life in their nearby offices.

Then through to the reception spaces for more tasting and chat. Seemed like a great way to do business to me!